#789 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Monday November 6)
Good morning,
AUTOCRACY IS AROUND THE CORNER
Tomorrow is Election Day in America. It’s not the “big event,” which won’t happen for another year. There are a few consequential elections, but they collectively are not as meaningful as in an even-numbered year. And while it is too early to run to the London bookmakers to bet on the outcome of the presidential election, there has been a fair bit of news to suggest that it should be at top of mind right now.
In order for Joe Biden to defeat Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, he will have to capture the majority of the “swing states” that he rode to victory three years ago. A Times/Siena poll released this week suggests that Trump leads in five of these six states. If Biden can’t figure out a way to move at least three of Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania into his column, Trump will be the 47th president. What that bodes for America is frightening, with Trump sycophants working overtime to ensure that we will move deeper into authoritarianism from which it will be difficult to extract ourselves.
Just read some of the plans Trump has in store for us. He has shared with friends (and the Heritage Foundation is making no secret of it) that when he says this election is about retribution, he means it. He intends to investigate all former members of his administration that turned against him, including John Kelly, Bill Barr, Ty Cobb and Mike Milley, his chief of staff, attorney general, his lawyer, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, respectively. He’s going to chase down Joe Biden. His plan, called “Project 2025,” will draft myriad executive orders and make lists of conservative judges and administration members who can staff important positions. And these folks are more conservative than the Federalist Society. He will weaken the civil service and he will make sure the Justice Department is his own personal law firm, targeting political enemies. When he claims the various criminal prosecutions against him are persecutions and politically motivated, the lesson he takes away is “I will do that too.”
Meanwhile, the Insurrection Act, which Trump wanted to invoke against his enemies, is part of his plan. The Insurrection Act will allow deployment of the military against civilians, ostensibly to enforce the law. Mr. Trump views it as a tool of control.
For a chilling summary of the Trump plan, read this from the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/
CAN JOE BIDEN WIN?
Despite an impressive record of legislative accomplishments, successful foreign policy, bipartisan compromise, Joe seems to defy the adage “all sizzle—no steak.” In Joe’s case, he seems to be all steak but little sizzle. He simply doesn’t excite his base, particularly the young and minority groups.
While the recent poll and apparent lukewarm support that currently tilts the popular vote estimate in Trump’s favor, all the news is not bad. The Democratic base and Independents remain solidly against Trump. While the Times/Siena poll shows Trump ahead of Biden by 5% nationally, the same poll shows that an unnamed generic Democrat would defeat Trump by 8%. That’s a swing of 13%!
In a world where facts are trumped by perception, Joe Biden offers a high risk choice of an undesirable candidate against an uninspiring candidate. We are now at a point where we have a candidate that shouldn’t run (Biden) against a candidate who cannot be allowed to win (Trump). Hopefully, cool heads prevail in the Democratic party and there is a vibrant primary contest of several worthy carriers of the Democratic flag in 2024. It is time for the next generation to step up.
REMEMBERING BRAD
Many of you sent lovely notes of support after I published a Musing this weekend remembering our son, Brad. It actually was sent prematurely, originally intended for December 13th, the sixth anniversary of Brad’s death. Somehow, I inadvertently hit “send,” rather than “save.”
I might otherwise apologize for the premature publication and the added missive in your inbox—but it offered one more opportunity to meditate on Brad and the effect he had on our family and his friends. To those of you who sent good wishes, thank you.
WE ARE NOT HERE FOREVER
This morning, I woke to a piece by author Anne Lamott, contemplating life on the cusp of her 70th birthday. It is well worth the read. She begins with a contemplation of aging:
“Getting older is almost like changing species, from cute middle-aged, white-tailed deer, to yak. We are both grass eaters, but that’s about the only similarity. At the Safeway sushi bar during lunchtime, I look at the teenage girls in their crop tops with their stupid flat tummies and I feel bad about what lies beneath my big, forgiving shirts but — and this is one of the blessings of aging — not for long. Aging has brought a modicum of self-compassion, and acceptance of what my husband and I call “the Sitch”: the bodily and cognitive decline that we all face sooner or later. Still, at Safeway, I can’t help but avert my eyes. Why push my luck?”
She concludes with the following:
“Which brings us to death, deathly old death. At a few months shy of 70, with eyeballs squinting through the folds, I now face the possibility that I might die someday. My dad said after his cancer diagnosis that we are all on borrowed time, and it is good to be reminded of this now and again. It’s a great line, and the third-most-popular conversation we oldies have with each other, after the decline of our bodies and the latest senior moments: how many memorial services we go to these days.
Some weeks, it feels as though there is a sniper in the trees, picking off people we have loved for years. It breaks your heart, but as Carly Simon sang, there is more room in a broken heart. My heart is the roomiest it has ever been.”
Have a wonderful week and keep your heart roomy,
Glenn